Porter's inconsistency hindering Oakland's offense

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Porter's inconsistency hindering Oakland's offense
By Anthony Carroll on May 16, 2006 02:51 AM

Fantasy Football rule one: do not select Jerry Porter high in your draft.

Porter has fallen just short of the 1,000-yard mark for two straight seasons by a combined 60 yards. Not so bad for a second wide receiver...

But then again, not so good for a man who lines up opposite Randy Moss every game.

Adjacent to Moss, who surpassed the 1,000-yard plateau by just five yards, Porter hauled in a career-high 76 receptions for 942 yards and five touchdowns last season.

But don't be fooled.

In Porter's 16 games of action last season, just two outings were good for over 100 yards. Furthermore, only three surpassed the 70-yard echelon that is all but mediocre for a player considered to be one of the NFL's premier wideouts. And as a 27-year-old, six-year veteran, Porter can no longer play the learning card.

If there's one thing he does need to learn, though, its consistency. Eight weeks into the season marked Porter's first 100-yard game--a game in which he caught two touchdowns in a 34-25 win over Tennessee. Two weeks later...three catches, 27 yards, and a 31-17 loss. The week after that: six catches, 142 yards, a touchdown, and another quarter of Oakland's wins.

Strap yourself in; the inconsistency-coaster is one wild ride. And apparently, you need to be 6-2, 220-pounds to ride.

Through the first seven weeks leading up to this 100-yard breakout, Porter tallied just 303 yards on 25 catches. And that's during the portion of the season where the statue behind center was hitting his receivers well, too.

Take Randy Moss for example.

Despite receiving more hype than the movie premier of "The Da Vinci Code," Randy Moss still snuck out of his first seven weeks of the 2005 campaign with 509 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That's 206 yards and two touchdowns more than Porter produced, despite playing in one less game and seeing far more double coverage schemes.

If Porter makes it to the 2006 season as a member of the Oakland Raiders --which is probable, despite media-hype--it will likely be his final opportunity to prove that he is more than an inconsistent threat.

Along with the recovery of Warren Sapp, Oakland's defense looks to be greatly improved with the offseason additions of Michael Huff, Thomas Howard, Darnell Bing, and Lance Johnstone. And if this year's offseason plan remains unvarnished, this should translate into more possession time for the offensive unit. Last season, Oakland's on-field possession clock averaged just over 28 minutes, positioning them in the 28th spot in the NFL--just above the Cleveland Browns .

And not too surprisingly, the Raiders lost to the Browns 7-9 in their Week 16 meeting with them at home--a game in which Porter caught six balls for 31 yards and no touchdowns.

Fantasy Football rule two: three 80-yard games is better than one 100-yard and two 30-yard outings.

Consistency conquers irregularity; hand Jerry Porter the fantasy rulebook.

http://www.realfootball365.com/nfl/articles/2006/05/jerry-porter-raiders160506.html
 
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